Fighting Words
by khughes830
Summary: Inspired by a challenge from More Than That. Jim's back from Stamford, but they aren't speaking to each other.


_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**_

**A/N: Yet another story inspired by a challenge over at More Than That. The challenge:  
**_The documentary airs and it becomes something of a reality TV hit, as everyone in fake TV land becomes as fanatic as we in real TV land. The story opens just after "Casino Night" has aired, complete with the confession & the kiss. Time has passed between the moment when that was filmed and the airdate. Jim and Pam are not together. I'll let you decide the circumstances. So, what happens? How does Jim deal with having his heart broken in front of everyone? Does Pam come by to visit? Do they re-establish contact? Is Jim mobbed by a huge crowd of weeping women and carried off to Utah for a polygamous mass wedding?_

She glanced up at him, again. It had become a pattern since he had come back, her looking at him, him not looking at her. He had been back for three weeks – after having been gone for three months. She didn't even get a goodbye email, voicemail, letter – nothing. One day he was there, the next he was gone. Hell, the only thing he had said to her in three weeks had been "good morning" his first day back. Michael had wanted the whole office to go out for lunch, but Jim had refused to get up from his desk and that was that. He had been gone, but now he was back and Pam had no idea what to do.

He would have quit the damn job if he had known that after three months, he would be right back where he started – granted, with better pay and the opportunity to fire Dwight if it ever presented itself, but those pros were far outweighed by the one con – her. When she called in the Monday after the casino night, he took his opportunity and ran. He expedited his transfer and had Jan deal with Michael. By the end of the week, he was in Stamford.

But, just like that, three months later, they closed the Stamford branch and sent him back to Scranton. He thought he was going to throw up the morning he walked in and saw her for the first time in three months. Her hair was shorter and she looked more alive, but his stomach was still in knots. He was still hurt, still reeling, still crushed, even though he knew that they didn't get married. When Michael tried to get the whole office to celebrate his return that afternoon, he felt the ground slipping out from under him. At least in the office, he could stay busy, but sitting there, having to look at her – he refused to get up from his desk and that was that. He had been gone, but now he was back and Jim had no idea what to do.

He tended to work late these days. He found it easier to deal if he didn't have to deal with the after work crowd. He'd stare at the computer screen until his eyes start to hurt – that was his cue to leave for the day. He pushed the door open and stared at the ground as he walked. He jammed his hand into his pocket to dig out his keys when he felt a thud against his back. He stopped and turned to see a small rock lying next to his feet. He slowly moved his eyes back toward the building until they stopped on Pam, about 10 feet from him, arms crossed over her chest. Jim turned on his heel slowly.

"Did you just throw a rock at me?"

"You bet your ass I did!" she yelled at him. He closed his eyes and shook his head. He couldn't do this right now, if ever. He turned back and started to walk toward his car.

"Fuck you Jim Halpert!" Hearing her scream at him stopped him in his tracks. He turned back and glanced her.

"Nice, Pam."

"Screw you, Jim." He had never heard her cuss, but he did his best to ignore it. "Have a good night, Pam." He hit the lock on his key chain and pulled his door open, only to have it slammed shut by Pam.

She must have sprinted across the parking lot, because she totally took him by surprise. He took a step back as she positioned herself between him and the driver side door.

"I'm not done yelling at you!" she roared at him.

"Forgive me if I'm not in the mood, Pam, but I'm not, so get the hell out of the way."

"No."

He took in a deep breath. "Pam, quit acting like a child."

"Right back at you jackass!"

"That's it!" he yelled, throwing his bag down. "I don't know what the hell has crawled up your ass tonight, but stop calling me names! What the hell gives you the right to…"

"Well, damn Jim… want a list!" she spit out at him.

He took a step toward her, squaring his shoulders and putting his hands on his hips. "Oh, that's fucking rich, Pam. How about you – how about you staying with an asshole that didn't deserve you! How about you, playing along even though you knew how I felt! How about you, pretending that your life was so fucking perfect even though you cried to the cameramen! How about you and your bullshit "I can't" and "I'm marrying Roy" and "misunderstanding"!" His face flushed red as he yelled and yelled. "If you thought that I was just going to sit back and watch you throw your life away, well then I guess you didn't know me as well as you thought!"

Pam took a step toward him. "How dare you! You sanctimonious son of bitch! You blow my life apart with three words and then run away! Chicken Shit!" she screamed, poking him in the chest.

"You know what, FINE!" he screamed, taking another small step toward her. "If I'm a chicken shit because I admitted my real feelings, FINALLY, and got my heart crushed, then I guess I'm a chicken shit. If I'm a chicken shit because the love of my life was going to marry someone else and I couldn't deal, then so be it!"

"BUT YOU JUST LEFT!" she screamed.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU CARE?" he roared back.

"BECAUSE I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU TOO, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

In that moment, his brain must have disconnected from his body – it was the only explanation he could come up with later. It was like his instincts took over. He reached and wrapped one hand around the back of her neck, dragging her to him, assaulting her lips with his.

Pam stiffened for a moment, but then threw her arms around his neck, pressing herself against him. He groaned and spun them around, pressing Pam against the car, deepening the kiss. Jim pulled his lips off hers and ran them up and down her neck, thoroughly enjoying the sighs and moans she was emitting. He pulled back and looked at her swollen lips and flushed cheeks for a moment before kissing her senseless again. Pam tightened her arms around his neck and shifted in his arms, slightly straddling him. Jim groaned and ran his hand down her arm to her hip. He lightly traced his fingers down her thigh and wrapped his hand around her leg. He started to pull her leg up when he heard a loud cough. He pulled back and looked at her.

"Was that you?" he whispered. She just shook her head. They both looked over to see Ryan standing about 10 feet from them, looking up at the sky.

"I was just wondering if I could get in my car" he said, never looking at the two of them. Jim glanced down to see that, he did indeed have Pam pressed up against Ryan's car. He let go of Pam and stepped back, grabbing his bag off the ground. He ran his hand through his hair as Ryan walked toward them.

"Uh… yeah, I mean, it is your car and all! I didn't… I mean, I thought that we were…"

Ryan threw his bag in the car before looking over at Jim. "I was studying in the conference room and I didn't see a damn thing. Good night." With that, he slammed his car and backed out of his parking spot. Jim didn't turn around again until his car made the turn out of the parking lot. Pam was doubled over against this car, tears streaming down her face as she laughed. Jim couldn't help but join in.

"I think we might have permanently scarred him." That made Pam laugh harder. As their laughter subsided, she looked up at him. "Look, Jim, I'm sorry about all the names." Jim just shook his head. "Don't worry about it, but I do think that we should…"

"Talk" she said, finishing his sentence. "You want to come over" she asked.

"I'll follow you" he said, smiling at her for the first time in months.

THE END


End file.
